UCS ran an advocacy campaign, including media attention, public comments, and testimony, to pressure the EPA into setting stricter limits on ethylene oxide emissions. The outcome? Far stronger new standards and widespread public health benefits.

Citing UCS research 33 times in their final rule, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved guidelines to improve outdated electricity grids, allowing for more renewable energy and requiring grid operators to plan for climate change.

These new rules, informed by UCS analysis, place limits on carbon emissions from new gas plants and existing coal plants. UCS was invited to the announcement of this historic announcement in recognition of our role in helping pass it.

The newest EPA rules will help prevent an estimated 7.2 billion tons of global warming pollution by 2055—to get there, UCS provided technical feedback, facilitated 14,000+ public comments from supporters, and rallied reinforcement in Congress.

UCS has worked for years to draw attention to weak standards that do not protect workers and adjacent communities from potential chemical plant disasters. A new EPA rule strengthens requirements for such facilities’ preparedness and prevention.

UCS peer-reviewed science shows that more than one-third of the total area scorched by forest fires in the western United States and southwestern Canada since 1986 can be directly attributed to emissions from specific fossil fuel companies.

Working with a coalition, UCS helped press Minnesota to enact novel legislation that will allow state regulators to protect communities exposed to multiple pollutants, by limiting or denying environmental permits to polluting projects.

UCS analysis of health risks to communities living near facilities emitting ethylene oxide, a known carcinogen, along with our advocacy for science-based standards, helped push the EPA to issue a proposed rule that could cut emissions by 80 percent.